Lin Zhe, one of China s most prolific writers, paints an unforgettable picture of an ordinary family caught up in the maelstrom that was China s most recent century Her narrative ranges across the entire length of China, to California and back again, to the battlefields of the Anti Japanese War of Resistance and the brutal struggle sessions of the Cultural Revolution BLin Zhe, one of China s most prolific writers, paints an unforgettable picture of an ordinary family caught up in the maelstrom that was China s most recent century Her narrative ranges across the entire length of China, to California and back again, to the battlefields of the Anti Japanese War of Resistance and the brutal struggle sessions of the Cultural Revolution But it always returns to this family s home in Old Town, that archetypical, old fashioned, and vanishing place steeped in the traditions of South China Ms Lin examines the inner strength that sustains people s lives in their darkest hours, when religious and political faith falter And yet, a vein of irony and droll humor runs through this powerful story Lin Zhe s novel may be understood as a love story, memoir, history, or allegory For the non Chinese reader it provides a rare and moving insight into Chinese lives in a century of fearsome upheaval This book was originally published under the title Riddles of Beliefd Love A Story.

Lin Zhe George A.Fowler

Lin Zhe pen name of Zhang Yonghong was born in 1956 of Han Chinese parents then serving in the People s Liberation Army in Kashi Kashgar , a small frontier city in what is now Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region After graduating from the Chinese Language and Literature Department of Fudan University in 1980, she worked as a reporter and editor for Women of China Magazine in Beijing She has written fourteen novels that focus on women s issues relating to marriage and personal and family life, as well as three TV drama series Photo by Time Out Beijing.